The Gift of Peace

I came across this devotional and read it to our family during our recent vacation. Thought I’d share it here with you today as well.

Winning peace: Real peace is not won by avoiding or denying conflict. Conflict may be necessary to achieve peace. That’s why Jesus Christ fought and defeated the Enemy of our souls, freeing us to live at peace with God. “For he himself is our peace, who has … destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility” (Ephesians 2:14). No wonder the angels proclaimed “on earth peace to men” upon Jesus’ arrival in the manger (Luke 2:14).   

Receiving peace: Jesus told His disciples that He gives peace of a different quality than the world gives (John 14:27). The world can achieve a temporary absence of conflict through a change in circumstances. But lasting peace is received as a free gift from the One who defeated death and sin. It is not something we can obtain through our own efforts, nor something that can be taken away by life’s difficulties or conflicts. In Jesus’ words: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Experiencing peace: We can, however, rob ourselves of the peace that Christ offers. That’s why we are commanded to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts (Colossians 3:15). How? By replacing anxiety with prayer and thankfulness. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” The result? “The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

Click the link above or click here to read more. You’ll find some key points and additional readings to go along with this topic.

There is nothing like the peace of God! It can get you through anything and keeps you steady when the waves of the world might otherwise toss you around. It’s available to you at no cost – the price has already been paid. What an amazing gift.

Have a great day.

Peace

It’s the greatest gift in the world and it’s something you can’t buy, you can’t create, and you can’t get from anything or anyone else.

It’s peace, and it will change your entire perspective if you’ve never received it. It can make even the toughest times not seem so bad. It’s a game changer and God is waiting to share it with you. All you have to do is ask.

John 14:27
I give you peace, the kind of peace that only I can give. It isn’t like the peace that this world can give. So don’t be worried or afraid.

God’s peace changed my outlook on life a few years ago and has made it better as a result, through the ups and the downs, too. That’s why I’m sharing this with you. That’s why I write about my faith. It’s made all the difference in the world in my life…and to me, that’s too important not to share.

Thanks for reading and have a great day.

Even Greater Things

Do you ever think, “I can’t,” or “There’s no way I could,” or similar thoughts?

If you never do, well let me just say that’s amazing. If you do though, you can be certain that just about everyone else out there has those thoughts sometimes, too.

So when you have those thoughts, what ends up happening?

Does something inside you seem to try to downplay your abilities, your potential, or convince you that you don’t deserve true joy and happiness in your life?

The bad guy is always trying to make us feel like things are out of our reach. Society will often chime right in and agree, saying, “Ha! Not a chance!”

The good news is, we don’t have to resign ourselves to those negative thoughts and those lowered expectations for our lives.

John 14
¹¹Have faith in me when I say that the Father is one with me and that I am one with the Father. Or else have faith in me simply because of the things I do. ¹²I tell you for certain that if you have faith in me, you will do the same things that I am doing. You will do even greater things, now that I am going back to the Father.

Last I checked, Jesus did some pretty unbelievable things during the course of his life on Earth. And yet he’s telling us that not only are we able to do the same things he did, but that we WILL do them…and furthermore, that we not only can but WILL do even GREATER things? Wow.

I don’t know about you but that’s pretty inspiring to me. Talk about a motivational speech! 🙂

Hopefully these words encourage you as much as they encouraged me when I read them.

Tell the negative voices in your life – internal and external – that you have a great future ahead and that nothing is going to stop you from achieving and exceeding your goals and dreams, and being your best in the process. Then, have faith that it will happen. It will.

Have a great day.